I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or any characters. No copyright infringement intended.

Notes: It's a girl! Next Poll on the Profile is now what to name Ponch's new puppy ... HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE - each of you truly make up the best FF fandoms around! Thank you for a wonderful year and for new friendships. Don't make resolutions...make a decision to learn from last year's mistakes. You already know what you need to do, so just do it.

My thanks to CinderH for a MAJOR suggestion and to MagicMarker for another prompt here that seems to have added a great deal of plot value when the muse was quite stuck on a nit.

Chapter 15

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Kono was mad. So mad in fact, that she refused to look Chin in the face. It didn't matter that he even understood because that understanding only made matters worse. It was so utterly fine and yet so perfectly damning all rolled into one, then tied up with a pretty yellow bow.

"How's Danny?" Released the same day to go home from the hospital, she had just finished getting dressed with clothes Chin had kindly retrieved for her from her house while undergoing treatment to flush her system from the strong sedatives. Her concern for Danny was genuine, but the question came out abruptly and she mentally kicked herself for sounding so defensive.

"Steve said he was a bit out of it and that he was sleeping again. They think he's going to be fine." Once more, her cousin managed to make it worse. Even though he essentially just answered her question, the gentle tone was so calmly understanding, Kono's sense of aggravation only grew.

Staring at her reflection in the mirror, she sighed heavily while brushing her hair almost rudely in the bathroom before pulling it into an even tighter ponytail. She made herself wince as she pulled the band to the nape of her neck. The door was ajar and she aimed her voice to where he stood just outside holding her beach bag. "Listen, Chin, I'm good and just want to go home right now. You don't need to stay here or hang out with me."

Chin was leaning against the wall with every intention of taking her wherever she wanted to go. Leaving her alone was certainly not on his agenda. In her temper, she'd also already forgotten that HPD still had her car for processing. When she finally opened the bathroom door to limp out for the new stitches in her knee, he silently held her bag out and she snatched it off his fingers.

"So, I'm going to poke my head in to see Danny. I guess I'll see you tomorrow." He mockingly raised his eyebrows as she continued talking and she finally remembered without a verbal prompt. Her face clouded immediately and her next outburst was filled with complete frustration. "Damn it, Chin!" She wanted to cry for real at that point and Chin at least had the grace to ignore that emotional reaction, too.

"We can pick up your car tomorrow when HPD is done with it." He shrugged as if it were nothing to worry about, though it was farthest from the truth. He waited and absorbed her temper knowing full well that she was embarrassed though no one was judging her one bit. She'd done what was natural and intuitive; then had found herself in the most unwitting and unlikely of traps.

Chin smiled to calm her down since there were unshed tears welling in her eyes. "Kono, it's okay."

That he said as selfishly for himself as much as for her before reaching out in the privacy of the hospital room to grab both her arms. He anticipated her attempt at avoiding him because his gesture would be taken as sympathetic. And of course, sympathy would be another thing she wouldn't want. In comparison, his own stoic demeanor was merely an outward demonstration because he had hours to work on getting his own emotions under wraps. Like Steve, discovering his cousin in such a helpless set of circumstances was devastating. Seemingly in control now, while Kono slept on and on in the hospital, it was only because he had nothing but time to work through a variety of 'what if' scenarios during which he failed each and every time.

"Hey." He insisted on holding her in place when she tried to shirk him off as if to make a statement. However, there was so much he could feasibly ignore with due conscience as he gave her a gentle shake. Kono's desire to brow beat herself over what had just occurred was completely unnecessary. "You didn't do anything wrong, cuz. In fact, what you intended to do makes perfect sense."

"No. No, I'm stupid." Chin rubbed her arms while Kono's lip trembled, then stilled, and she regained her composure. She finally nodded at his disagreeable and very persistent smirk. He was trying to make her smile and was going to eventually succeed despite her determination to humiliate herself one thousand times over. But still, she did feel as if she'd made a ridiculous mistake. "I do feel really stupid."

"No need, cuz. Really." His grin finally made her smile in return through a few lost tears which rolled down her cheeks. But falling asleep in one place and waking up entirely somewhere else was rather unsettling at best. Everything was simply too fresh for her to feel anything but utterly foolish for having made such a blunder.

"You're just mad that you slept like a baby through all the fun." He chided her as he finally succeeded at pulling her into a full reassuring hug. Whispering into her hair, Chin couldn't help the chuckle that rose up in his voice. "By the way, did you know that you snore like a champion race horse?"

With a loud gasp, Kono pulled out of his arms with eyes as wide as saucers. Tears forgotten, she had to bite back her own laugh because she was going to get even with him. "Chin Ho Kelly!"

Much too late, Chin realized the one mistake he'd made as he saw the side of the beach bag hurtling directly into his face.

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Jasper woke to the vibration of General's deep tremulous growl which he felt through the blankets. Not quite awake, it took a moment to remember where he was and that the current reality was quite real. With one hand, he automatically lay a soothing hand on the agitated Terrier's head.

"Quiet." He whispered around a throat that still seemed tight and sore for some reason when the dog's harsh warning vibration continued.

"General, no. Be quiet." Ramirez had worked whatever magic was necessary to allow the dog to stay with him for a few added hours at Tripler and Jazz didn't want to ruin it by having the animal prematurely evicted. He was startled though by what happened next and General felt his alarm. In one smooth motion, the dog rose to all four paws to straddle his owner while still on the hospital bed.

"Please accept my apologies, Doctor Mitchell." The thin, gravelly voiced reached him low and from off to his right. "I didn't mean to disturb you or your fine dog."

With a hand tightening around General's collar, Jasper turned his head to come nearly face to face with the elderly Adrian Parker. Two other suited strangers were in attendance and flanking each side of the senior Parker's wheelchair. Wearing what Jasper knew was likely a nearly permanent nasal cannula, a portable oxygen tank was attached to the chair and the man was whistling in short panted breaths. The man's skin was well-weathered but nearly gray from illness with just slightly blue-tinged lips.

He didn't need to ask for introductions, yet Adrian Parker extended his hand despite General's ongoing warning. His two suited attendants glanced nervously to each other concerning the dog's attitude, but forced themselves to stand their ground next to their employer. Uncertain and more than a bit leery, Jazz didn't respond as he adjusted his hold on General's collar. Slowly, he watched as the elderly man's hand dropped limply to his lap.

"I'm sorry. I wouldn't shake my hand, either." Adrian sighed sadly at Jazz's rather unsettled expression.

"The nurses say you're feeling well and getting better. You can be released tomorrow." Attempting light conversation, all Adrian achieved was to rattle Jazz more for knowing so much about his condition. Then again, the man was at one time an esteemed physician even if his son was a psychopathic murderer.

"Who are you?" The deep baritone sounded from the doorway. It caused Jazz's eyes to fly up with undisguised relief and the dog's tail to wag happily from side to side. Ramirez had returned for a visit and to duly remove General from hospital grounds before the dog's presence was seen as overly excessive.

The big doctor stood for a moment in the doorway to the hospital room, nearly as cautious as Jasper Mitchell as he gauged each person present in the room, most of all the patient he'd come to see. When he saw the elderly man's features which very closely resembled that of his terrible son, Ponch knew at least one new face without the man needing to answer. He did frown though when he saw General's defensive posture as he stood over his owner's body on the bed. "Is something wrong here?"

"I, am Doctor Adrian Parker." One of the suited attendant's turned Parker's wheelchair to face Ramirez.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you in person, Doctor Ramirez." Like Jazz, Ponch didn't immediately respond to the elderly doctor's welcome, warm as it might have been. But with just a hairs-breadth of a pause, he deigned to shake the man's hand. Rather than a fearful uncertainty though, his response was due to being honestly surprised and perhaps a bit suspicious for the reason behind the man's unannounced arrival. He recovered quickly enough but continued to make a judgmental decision based solely on Jasper's worried silence.

"Yes. Well." Gesturing to the hallway and moving to be closer to his bedridden friend, Ponch gestured to the hallway. "Doctor Mitchell is not accepting visitors just yet."

"Least of all me I suppose." Adrian finished with a truly aggrieved sigh. "I understand. But you need to know that I came to apologize. I knew something was off and wrong .. but I assumed it to be solely the running of the clinic .. certainly nothing like this."

The elderly man was genuinely contrite and he spoke directly to Jasper before motioning that he should be removed from the room for the sake of the patient. However. he waited in the hallway until Ramirez came out to speak with him. Leashed by side was a rather reluctant General.

Parker read the mistrust easily enough with the big doctor, too, and didn't try to dispute it. In a way, he also deserved it all though his lawyer heartily disagreed. He had arranged for Ramirez to be at the clinic for a variety of reasons all of which were meant to benefit the now lowly establishment, not uncover his son's dangerous habits.

"I had thought you'd help get the place straightened out. That Alan might learn something of great value." It sounded utterly ridiculous now that he said it out loud. Ridiculous and entirely self-absorbed.

Pausing to breathe more studiously and calm an erratic heart, Adrian needed to stop fairly often and he quietly appreciated Ramirez's obvious understanding and patience. Even though trust was decidedly stretched very thin, doctor to doctor at least recognized the ailing senior's physical circumstances. Adrian gave a brief nod of thanks before continuing. "I knew the funds for the clinic were being mis-used. I even knew that important medical supplies were being tampered with … but no, not this. I could never have guessed that my own son was so … terribly sick."

Ponch frowned uncomfortably. He didn't quite understand what the old man was getting at and he assumed that the rumors of dementia were valid enough as what seemed like ramblings continued. But as he spoke, Ponch realized that Adrian Parker was indeed quite sound of mind and that contrived rumor had been just that.

"I'm going to help the police wherever I can. Alan may be a lost cause though … even I know that after learning the depths of what he's done for such a long, long time." He sputtered through an inhale and then a shuddering exhale. "He's clearly not competent to stand trial, but something must be done. It hardly seems fair to merely incarcerate him after what was done to those poor people."

"It's not over yet either. There's at least one more person out there." He wasn't sure why he blurted it out. Maybe to get a reaction, to see if the old man was lying or to just hurt him more. The two suited men shifted in a stunned silence next to their employer. Each was undeniably disturbed by the announcement and Ponch wound up feeling sorry as the elderly man sagged into his wheelchair.

Stealing himself, he explained what Jasper had finally been able to communicate about what he'd seen prior to Kono's abduction. "Kylie Yeun was treated at the clinic for a burn she'd gotten at her job. She worked at a local fast food restaurant."

Five-0 had already looked into the missing Kylie Yeun and it was true enough. The young woman had not shown up for her shift. But turnover was high at fast food restaurants and the manager didn't think much of it. As was the norm, he found someone to work at minimum wage quickly enough to replace the unreliable worker.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know." It was all Adrian could think to say. "Do the police know where .. or what .. Alan did to her?

"Only that she's dead." Ponch was beginning to feel very bad now for the frail old man as he inhaled a whistling breath. The man genuinely cared and wasn't nearly as dour as everyone had been led to believe. It must have been a tremendous chore to get the man out of bed and to the hospital that day. Regardless of his own physical woes, Ponch sensed that Adrian Parker had insisted that his staff make it happen.

Attempting to moderate his tone to be at least more empathetic and less antagonistic, Ponch finished his explanation but omitted the fact that some of her organs had been found in the warehouse refrigeration unit. "The police haven't located her body yet, though."

Though he made an educated effort at leaving out some things, Parker narrowed his eyes at the words, understanding immediately what the big doctor meant. "I see."

Other remnants of Kylie Yeun were long gone; sold to whomever Alan Parker had done business with and he wasn't talking. Other organs still maintained in the large warehouse refrigerator had been identified as likely belonging to the woman by the medical examiner. But the full bodily remains were still missing.

"Jasper is talking about leaving the island." It was the final blow for the old man as his head swiveled now in shock to meet Ramirez's gaze and he glanced down to the dog who was now calmly sitting in the hallway. Said after a stressful interview with Five-0 where Jasper detailed seeing the dead and disgraced Yeun in the warehouse, Ponch wasn't sure that the young doctor actually meant it. The words had been serious enough though and one thing remained clear. "He's not coping well."

"Leave?" Ponch looked hard at the elder Parker, a bit perplexed by the strong emotional reaction. He waited as the man took a period of time to gather his wits but the long silence was intolerable as neither man really knew what to say. The two attendants with Parker also waited patiently until he signaled to one who pulled a large envelope from inside his suit jacket.

"When he's feeling better, please give this to Doctor Mitchell. I will await his answer regardless of what he might decide." The sincerity was not lost on Ramirez as he accepted the sealed documents.

The most odd of comments came out seconds later and Ramirez could only stare as he realized what it meant. "Let's not have him win everything."

Adrian was referring to his son as he glanced meaningfully from the ex-TAMC's doctor's face to the unopened documents he'd just handed over. When Ramirez looked up, the nearly defeated old man was being wheeled away.

~ to be continued ~